It’s rarely, and shouldn’t be, to body-shame her. Critics commented on Hadid’s changing physique for the second time during a fashion week, and this year, Hadid shamed them right back for their criticism (page 8).

Gigi Hadid is one of the world’s top models

Twitter had a lot to say about Gigi Hadid’s body during New York Fashion Week | Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images

It’s tough to walk down a city street and miss Hadid’s face. She has collaborated with big fashion brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Stuart Weitzman, and Maybelline cosmetics. She’s graced the front of 20 Vogue covers, opened and closed four shows total for the 2018 New York Fashion Week, and has grossed over 38 million Instagram followers.

She and her ex-boyfriend are style #relationshipgoals

Her boyfriend, Zayn Malik, has always been supportive of the popular model. Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Hadid and former One Directioner-turned-solo-artist now-ex-boyfriend Zayn Malik didn’t just weigh your Instagram feed down with adorable, romantic photos. The two stood side-by-side as fashion pioneers with a strong message during their relationship.

They posed for a Vogue cover together in August 2017 to showcase how de-gendered fashion has and can become. “I shop in your closet all the time, don’t I?” Hadid asked Zayn in the interview, to which he replied: “Yeah, but same.” Hadid, who dabbles in photography on the side of her modeling career, photographed Zayn for a spring 2017 Versus Versace campaign.

Next: They’re a model family.

All of her siblings are models, too

Yolanda Hadid, Gigi’s mother, is a former model who posed for Vogue, Grazia, and Amica magazines throughout her career. She premiered her new Lifetime series Making a Model with Yolanda Hadid in January 2018.

Bella, Gigi’s younger sister one year her junior, is a force on the runway as well. The two have been dubbed “fashion’s fiercest sisters,” and “the most famous sister act,” and the two have earnings to show it. Bella was the ninth top grossing model in 2016 at an estimated $6 million. She has posed for over a dozen brands including Nike, Dior makeup, and Nars cosmetics.

Next: Critics attack Gigi’s weight.

Critics have called her ‘too curvy’

Gigi Hadid has been vocal about body positivity in the past. | Kevin Winter/Getty Images

She has been named one of People Magazine’s ‘Most Beautiful Women’ and has one of the most impressive modeling careers in the world right now. Despite this, a Tommy Hilfiger casting director hesitated to hire Hadid in 2015 because she wasn’t “quite as thin” as the other models.

Hadid took to Instagram to share a body-positive message and remind her followers that despite her celebrity status, she is only human, and some comments simply went too far. “No, I don’t have the same body type as the other models in shows. No, I don’t think I’m the best at any given show,” she began. “I represent a body image that wasn’t accepted in high-fashion before … If I didn’t have the body I do, I wouldn’t have the career I do. I love that I can be sexy and I’m proud of it.”

Next: The recent media attention Gigi has received.

While others shamed her for being ‘too skinny’

Gigi Hadid has also been called “too thin”. | Grant Lamos IV/Getty Images for Tommy Hilfiger

Days after Hadid walked multiple runways at NYFW, she took to Twitter to defend her changing body from critics calling her “too skinny.” “For those of you so determined to come up w why my body has changed over the years, you may not know that when I started @ 17 I was not yet diagnosed w/Hashimoto’s disease,” she explained.

“I have always eaten the same, my body just handles it differently now that my health is better. I may be “too skinny” for u, honestly this skinny isn’t what I want to be, but I feel healthier internally and … am still learning and growing with my body everyday, as everyone is.”

Next: These celebrities support Hadid.

She has garnered a lot of celebrity support

Ruby Rose and Chrissy Teigen both tweeted their support to Hadid after she posted to her account. “Can’t wait to see you in Milan,” Rose wrote. “Sorry you too have to explain something so ridiculous to people. Love to you.”

Hadid isn’t alone when it comes to Hashimoto’s. Other famous women like Zoe Saldana, Gina Rodriguez, Kim Cattrall, and Victoria Justice are also living with the thyroid condition.

Next: Hashimoto’s, explained.

So what IS Hashimoto’s Disease?

Hashimoto’s’ disease (also known as Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis) causes a person’s immune system to attack their thyroid. Inflammation from the disease leads to an underactive thyroid gland or hypothyroidism. The condition can lead to weight gain like Hadid experienced in 2015, and her medication likely assisted the weight loss critics are commenting on.

“Over the last few years I’ve been properly medicated to help symptoms including those, as well as extreme fatigue, metabolism issues, body’s ability to retain heat, etc … I was also part of a holistic medical trial that helped my thyroid levels balance out,” Hadid explained to her followers.

Hadid had one last message to convey:

“I will not further explain the way my body looks, just as anyone, with a body type that doesnt suit ur ‘beauty’ expectation, shouldnt have to,” Hadid concluded her message about her weight.

She left her followers with a final thought we all can get behind: “Please, as social media users & human beings in general, learn to have more empathy for others and know that you never really know the whole story. Use your energy to lift those that you admire rather than be cruel to those u don’t.”